Still seeking a champion for frail Hoosiers

OUR OPINION

November 18, 2011

There's no end in sight regarding the state's decision on the licensing of Inwood Hills Estates assisted living facility in South Bend.

Indiana State Department of Health spokesman Kenneth Severson said in an e-mail this week that no decision has been made regarding complaints, dating back nearly two years now, alleging the home jeopardized residents. There isn't any timetable for when action may come, Severson said.

Residents and their families in the meantime are left to wonder whether to trust the facility is delivering acceptable care.

The health department charges that Inwood Hills has been housing residents too disabled to be served in an assisted living setting. Among those was a man who died after suffering a fall in the facility in April.

Inspections in March and April of 2010 cited the facility for not discharging residents too sick or frail to be served there properly. After a survey last May turned up 14 violations, the state took the rare step of moving for a license revocation.

Since then, Severson said, the state has been working with Inwood on its problems and will conduct additional surveys "as warranted."

Hoosiers might expect that 20 months after the first failed inspection and six months from the last is enough time for the state to decide whether Inwood Hills has turned around its performance.

But as Severson reminded us, Inwood's compliance with licensure requirements is voluntary anyway.

Indiana's rules in this regard are among the most lax in the nation. Add to that the poor record of the state's nursing homes and weak support to help the infirm stay out of institutions and it's clear state leaders are ignoring the welfare of the most vulnerable Hoosiers.

Legislators in the upcoming session of the General Assembly can at least inch ahead by passing a law that requires every assisted living facility be licensed and requires every assisted living facility that repeatedly fails to meet crucial standards to shut down.